1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a painting aid and more particularly to a tray which can be held in either hand having open receptacles for both paint and brushes.
2. PRIOR ART AND OBJECTS
Applicants are unaware of any device which can be held in either hand of a painter and which has open receptacles for both paint and brushes as well as a stroking edge for removing excess paint from the brush. U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,943 discloses a device, for example, which can be attached to the rim of a paint can and has a single receptacle for holding brushes. Such devices may be satisfactory for use where the area to be painted is large and the entire can must be available for use or where a sufficiently large surface is available for supporting the entire can. Such devices are, however, unsatisfactory where a small quantity of paint and a small brush are more desirable and the available work space is limited such as when painting window frames, trim, moulding and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,371 discloses a receptacle for supporting artists brushes and a conditioner for such brushes but the device is not suitable to be held in the hand nor is a quantity of paint placed therein for subsequent use.
It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a novel hand held receptacle for a quantity of paint and one or more brushes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a paint and brush receptacle having a plurality of lips with straight edges to uniformly remove from the brush excess paint as the brush is stroked against the lip.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a receptacle for paint and brushes which can be comfortably and steadily held in either hand of the user.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a receptacle for paint and brushes which is easy to fill with paint and empty and clean after use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a receptacle for paint and brushes which is of compact, lightweight sturdy construction and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.